The next-generation multi-purpose rifle |
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South Korean Army soldiers will be able to use a new type of rifle that fires special bullets that explode over targets and scatter shrapnel beginning next year, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) said Monday.
The ADD-built ``next-generation multi-purpose'' rifle, tentatively named the XK-11, has successfully undergone 15 months of test trials that ended last February, said Kim In-woo, an ADD researcher in charge of development.
``The new rifle exceeds existing rifles in every aspect. It is expected to help improve our forces' combat capabilities at very low cost,'' Kim told reporters.
Once the rifle is fielded next year as scheduled, South Korea will become the first nation in the world to operate a weapon system that uses precision-guided high-explosive ammunition, he said.
South Korean troops currently use the indigenous K-2 and U.S.-manufactured M-16 rifles for personal weapons.
The easy-to-carry rifle, 6.1 kg in weight and 860mm in length, can fire both 5.56 ammunition and 20mm high-explosive rounds, selected by a single trigger, the researcher said.
Using a self-detonation system, the 20mm round from the rifle can trace its target and explode 3 to 4 meters above it, he said.
Other main features of the rifle include a laser ranging and precision aiming systems for day and night, including thermal infrared sighting, he added.
The rifle is likely to be useful during street battles, in particular, as the bullets are capable of penetrating walls of buildings, according to ADD officials.
The per-unit price is about 16 million won ($16,000).
The United States, France and Sweden are developing similar rifles, they said.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
|
"北 GPS공격 중단시점, 中이 알게된 때와 같아"
-Government-sanctions.jpg)
